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Independent Programmers' No-Win Scenario
snydeq writes "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister writes about the no-win scenario facing today's independent programmers: 'In a knowledge economy, programmers rank among our most valuable workers, yet the current legal and regulatory climate makes a career as an independent software developer virtually a dead-end prospect.' Section 1706 of the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the hurdles and costs of obtaining health care for one's own family, a hostile legal climate in search of accountability for any defects in code — these harsh realities make it 'easy to see why software developers would give up on entrepreneurship. For many, the risks simply don't match the potential rewards. Better to keep their heads down, not rock the boat, and hope they can hang onto their jobs until retirement.' Great news for big software vendors, which will be 'ensured an endless supply of programmers desperate for the safe haven of a steady paycheck, predictable taxation, health benefits, and a shield from civil prosecution when their code turns up buggy. But where will the next Microsoft come from? A field that discourages self-reliance sends the message that the status quo is the highest goal.'"
its much better to work for some huge soulless corporate pig where everything you create is owned by the pig and all you get is a measly salary and the pig gets richer and fatter while you wonder if you have enough to retire on at 65
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
This article is more than 10 years late... is this just because the dude crashed his plane into the IRS building?
Most programmers/IT people have long gotten around this by having multiple contracts and/or multiple employees. It's not really all that hard, and if your independent company only has one contract and one employee you're basically already working for them.
This does not in *any way* discourage the next Microsoft. Or the next Google or Facebook, BTW... obviously, since both came up after this law ;)
An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
The corporations use bribes to buy politicians. The politicians write the laws the corporations wants. And the laws the corporations want are protective laws which discourage indepdent businesses (programmers or otherwise).
It doesn't matter whether we're talling about RIAA, Hollywood, Comcast, or Microsoft. It's all the same operating procedure.
Corporations should have their free speech rights taken away (lobbyists/bribes).
They have no more rights than a Tree or a rock.
They are not THINGS not people.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Apart from "News for Nerds", the long ago abandonded mission statement, why limit this to programmers? Most all other occupations face the same challenges and pitfalls.
You can be grdauated from mechanic's school and either go to work for someone else's garage and enjoy the benefits of that position, or start your own and accept the attendant risks.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
Build it once, and get paid forever.
You're more optimistic than I am. I read that and think, 'build it once, and support it forever.'
Reply to That ||
As an independent tech worker today who runs his own company developing my own software products. I have health insurance, and I'm not worried about this clause of the tax law which *strictly* governs consulting with third parties and has nothing to do with your typical tech startup. Your premise that entrepreneurship is in any way damaged by this clause is utterly and totally *wrong*. There MAY be a small minority of independent contractors who, because they work an *extensive* amount of hours for *one* customer the tax law is saying "Sorry, no, you're an employee not a contractor." But the VAST majority of entrepreneurial-minded independent PROGRAMMERS are NOT impacted by this law, and I wish you folks would stop spreading FUD about it.
And no, Joe Stack was not some kind of anti-IRS hero... he was a tax cheat who blamed everyone else for his problems.
As an independent programmer in Europe, I'm not worried about any of those issues.
But where will the next Microsoft come from?
Nowhere, hopefully.
In all seriousness, this is typical of the point of view that only large, publicly-owned companies matter and that consumers are just a resource to be harvested by investors in the stock market. Personally, I care a lot less about where the next near-monopoly comes from than where the next generation of quality software comes from. And since it's generally not coming from the existing large corporations, TFA is at least correct in saying that the disincentives to independent development are a bad thing. But this is primarily a bad thing for consumers; there are always plenty of opportunities for the investors, though any given industry -- such as software -- may not be a hot deal at any given time.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
I read that and think, 'build it once, and support it forever.'
Raise your prices until it makes you happy or you can hire it out.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Yes, working in a group makes it easier than working by yourself.
Thats why companies exist, they can be more productive and efficient than a single person if they properly pool resources and talents.
Accountability in code defects? Lawsuits? Are you fucking kidding me? What universe do you live in where this is happening? Certainly not the one with Microsoft or Toyota in it.
Hold on to their jobs until retirement? Yes, the industry is no longer a fledgling industry. Yes businesses are getting better at figuring out who is actually useful as a programmer and who just happened to pass some courses at the college they went to. The article confuses the industry coming of age and realizing how useless most of the people who claim to be in it are and people not being able to hold on to a job.
People get fired because they are less valuable than something/someone else that can replace them or the need for them has simply went away. Yes companies try to cycle through low cost employees as a way to cut costs, but they end up moving so slowly after a short period of time that they disappear quickly and account for a small percentage of the workforce.
Reality:
Working independently and competing against people who work in groups is generally hard. Doing it as a programmer is no different than doing it as a plumber, with one exception. The plumber isn't so retarded as to expect it to be any different nor do they have the sense of entitlement to think that it should be different for them.
Plenty of people DO go it alone. Happens constantly all the time. The company I work for actually works with more self employed people than companies.
Its not impossible, it just takes effort and is harder than working for a company with shared resources. Yes there are some silly laws aimed at software developers working on their own, but there are also some silly laws aimed at plumbers working alone. God, slashdot would just keel over dead if governments started requiring developers to be licensed and show they are qualified to do so like MANY MANY other professions.
I have a better question:
Why is it IT people in general feel that they are somehow different than everyone else in the world? Are they really so ignorant and socially dysfunctional to not realize that they are no different than any other part of society in any way? Is this ignorance or a form a geek elitism, thinking that we geeks can't possibly be expected to suffer under the same working conditions of the rest of the pathetic planet of idiots?
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
It's funny how all the big-business fat cats claim that "socialized healthcare" is bad for SMALL business, when yeah... lack of affordable self insurance is the PRIMARY reason many dreamers never give their nagging small business idea a go...
I was an independent contractor/developer for over 15 years and it was great. However, the dive in the economy and the items mentioned in the original post have squeezed things so much that large contracting organizations are swallowing up all the work and forcing independent contractors to roll over or hit the road. It doesn't matter what you know or how valuable to their clients. Decisions are made from the top of the organizations and middle management has little or no say about it.
I've been in software development for over 30 years and have always kept my skillset crisp and current. I've worked as W2 and 1099 over the years and I like 1099 much better (eg. no politics, focus on the task at hand rather than on corporate culture, more say in what and how I do things, etc.). However, unless corporations begin to operate like small companies (where the end product and customer satisfaction matters rather than maximizing share price at any cost), I don't see much hope for the future of independent developers. That is if making a good living matters. Granted, to some $$$ is secondary to enjoying what you do, but those of us with kids to: put through college, help with healthcare, supplement income due to the crappy job market, etc, it matters more than personal satisfaction.
Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an oncoming train.
If it worked like that it would be awesome. But it doesn't.
Say you are an independent programmer with EIN in hand. You walk up to Acme Industrials and present your resume and EIN. They contract you because, dammit, you're really good. A few months go by. You're very good, and love the independence of contracting. So good, in fact, that Acme renews your contract. Life is good.
Tax season rolls around. The government says, "Hey Acme, your awesome programmer contractor is really an employee. You owe us 30% of his salary in withholding tax. You owe use unemployment taxes. You owe us social security taxes. You owe use these other fees. And you're late on paying for the past three years also. Pay or lube up."
Acme gets rid of the awesome contract programmer who is so damn good that he doesn't need an agency to find him work. Well, at least he didn't before.
Panama, the Bahamas, Canada. Citizenship can be had elsewhere. If I was starting a company tomorrow, I'd incorporate offshore, hire offshore and only make my software available via download or as a web app. The USA/IRS might try and tax me for domestic downloads. Good luck with that guys.
If the USA wants to make it difficult for independent software developers or other independent entrepreneurs to do business in the United States, I'm sure that those independents will be happy to oblige them - by taking their money, talents and ambition elsewhere.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Like to go to theme parks? Set up another LLC and create a website dedicated to reviewing them, talking about which ones have what etc. Now you get to write off trips to Six Flags and Cedar point as legitimate business research.
That only works to a point right? According to the IRS you have to show some income at some point, not just a ton of expenses.
Got a complex or what? Given the audience I'm probably gonna burn some Karma here but, There are a dozens of professions I would put before programmers, maybe even hundreds, as the most important professions in civilization, regardless of development level (Nomadic, Agrarian, Industrial, Information). Lets start with Doctors. I'd value my health far higher than a program to balance my checkbook. Next Nurses, as I value my health to have doctors, Nurses are a critical component to make that happen much more than a web browser. Next, Civil Engineers, as I value having a roof over my head (rather than living in cave), clean potable water in my pipes, sewage lines and treatment plants, roads to move myself and goods on and bridges to cross bodies of water and ravines much more than a value software for digital pictures. Next Mechanical Engineers, I'd value cars, planes, boats and machinery to make things, machines to move goods and people, machines to build things and simply to provide an industrial economy much more than a software of any kind. Next, pretty much the rest of the traditional engineering professions. Next Any military career, as I value the defenders that prevent others from taking my life, loved ones or lively hood much higher than software to play games.
I could go on, but I'd put software programmers near the bottom of the list as the most important professions in civilization. Anyone putting software developers near the top of most important professions frankly has a mental disease involving some sort of superiority complex. Personally I'd rank software developers right up there with Telephone Sanitizers, Hair dressers, salesmen, middle managers and Executives on the most important to civilization.
Yes, but the stereotype is that the care that Canadian citizens receive comes slower and is of poorer quality than we expect in the US. In reality, I'm sure that most of that comes from Canadian Doctors recommending comparatively more conservative treatment methods, which keeps costs down, which ensures that healthcare is affordable enough for the state to provide.
One reason American healthcare is so expensive is because it is possible for providers to pursue extravagant and unnecessary procedures in order to draw profit from insurers, like commuting in an 18 seater SUV when a small compact car will do (Oblig. car analogy). This drives up insurance costs, which makes it harder to afford.
Find a small to mid-sized company and just lie on your resume about your degrees.
So lets start a union. I am finally ready to join a software union. If you don't want to join, thats ok too.
If you are a union organizer, tell me what to do. gpscruiseNOSPAM@gmail.com
We need to get off our asses gentlemen.
53-year-old Andrew Joseph Stack III, we don't honor you, but we owe you.
Rgds,
jim pruett
FTFY.
The private market insurance companies tend to only pay out 20-30% over what Medicare pays out. Sometimes Medicare does amazing things. Other times, they'll deny things that just don't make any sense whatsoever. A procedure that legitimately costs somewhere around $1500-2000 can expect to get paid out something like $300-500 at best from Medicare in most cases.
Remember my earlier remark? The private insurance companies pay out only about 20-30% more than than on most items.
While I'm all for a public option, I can't envision it being a good thing with the way we're currently running the public option for the elderly and the indigent (Medicaid...).
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
I had my six months as a Ron Paul follower before I came back to the progressive netroots. There are certainly things to like, but there's a hell of a lot that is abhorrent not just to liberal attitudes, but to common humanity. These people are not people you want in leadership positions, and they largely do not want leadership - they can't imagine(or are too stupid to understand the implications of) living in the state they would create, they just want to make a statement. Everyone has that one summer in high school where you read Ayn Rand and It All Makes Sense. Most of the libertarians are either in that phase, are sophist nihilists, are paranoid schizophrenics, or are bigots who resent having to operate under the standards of conduct our society expects. Some are all four. The Reason crowd is the closest to my beliefs, but they maintain a dogmatic stance on economics that isn't tenable with reality - and refuse to give up or explore the full consequences of anarchist ideals.
The most dire thing that will happen is that the industry CEOs will start having to cut their salaries and benefits. We can't have that now, can we? I mean, surely these guys are worth so much more than everyone else, aren't they? They do provide a commensurate degree of value for what they're paid, don't they? So to afford them any less than the lavish, overly-materialistic lifestyle to which they feel they are entitled would be unthinkable!
Okay. So how the fuck am I supposed to have more than one client? My work is at the top of the field, extremely specialized. That's the reason it's valuable enough for me to be an independent contractor to begin with. The one client I have wants me to sign a non-compete. Otherwise, my work has no value to them if I go and sell it to their competitors. It's a catch-22.
I don't want to have to punch a clock and work 40 hours a week. My client can't afford to pay my hourly rate full time, only to have me sit around doing nothing most of the time or working on side projects. And breaking into another field in order to find more clients could take years. I don't want to have to put up with all the other little corporate bullshit that the average worker is subjected to: windowless cubicles, hours wasted commuting, oppressive unhealthy work environments. That would stifle the creativity and talents that allow me to work independently. I spend my energy and focus being at the top of my game, not worrying about corporate politics or getting to work exactly on time.
Likewise, I don't want any employees. I've considered hiring an ex-stripper just to hang out with. But it's quite a leap to go from supporting yourself to supporting yourself and an unproductive employee, all in a single year. And I certainly don't want anyone else fucking with my work. More programmers doesn't equal better code. And hiring adds a whole other layer of bullshit to have to deal with, that I don't want. I'm not a businessperson. I'm not a salesman. I'm not an accountant or HR manager or lawyer. I'm a fucking programmer and I have a right to earn a living working to my full potential, not wasting away in some corporate hell-hole or being ass-raped and prevented from working by the federal government.